Sky to begin work on brand new learning facility in Livingston

Sky today announced that it has been granted planning permission for a brand new dedicated learning facility to be located at its existing Livingston site.

Sky Academy Skills Studios Livingston aims to provide 12,000 young people per year with a free learning experience that will link to the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and help students build life skills. Students will be able to create their own TV report about a subject they are studying at school using Sky’s state-of-the-art technology, including broadcast quality cameras, green screens and touch screen edit tables.

Work will begin on Sky Academy Skills Studios in Scotland this month, with an expected launch date in early 2015. The facility will build on the success of the first Sky Academy Skills Studios at Sky’s headquarters in West London. Since its launch in September 2012, 18,000 students have taken part in the experience, which is proven to inspire students and help them build skills such as communication, creativity and team work.

The Skills Studios in Livingston are part of Sky Academy, a ground-breaking set of initiatives that aims to help one million young people build skills, confidence and self-belief by 2020.

Bella Vuillermoz, Director of The Bigger Picture, Sky, comments: “We are very excited to see the plans for Sky Academy Skills Studios in Livingston move forward. From 2015, we will invite thousands of school children from all over Scotland to Livingston each year to take advantage of a state of the art facility where they can write, shoot and edit their very own television reports related to subject they are studying at school. Teachers will be able to sign their schools up for the experience from autumn 2014.”

Isla MacLennan, Acting Principal Teacher for Pupil Support at St Margaret's Academy, Livingston, adds: "The Skills Studios in London provided an excellent experience for our students and gave them additional knowledge and confidence for when they move onto the working world or further education. Having a Skills Studios in Livingston will be a fantastic facility for the local community and I am sure that schools in and around the area will benefit hugely from visiting this centre.”

Sky Academy Skills Studios Livingston will be available for use by students aged eight to 18 from schools across Scotland. Teachers will be able to book free visits for classes from their school online from autumn 2014 at www.sky.com/academy.

Sky has approximately 3,000 employees in Livingston, located in the town’s Kirkton Campus and Alba Campus. In addition, there are a further 2,700 employees in Dunfermline and Uddingston, making Sky Scotland’s 9th largest private sector employer. Sky in Livingston has previously worked with local primary schools including St Mary’s, Balbardie, Torphichen, Toronto, Windyknowe and Knightsridge.

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For further information: 

Joanna Wilson/Hazel Clare Beattie Communications

01698 787847/01324 602557

joanna.wilson@onlybeattie.com/ hazel.clare@onlybeattie.com/

About Sky:

Sky employs over 5,700 people in its Scottish contact centres (Livingston, Dunfermline, Uddingston) and has a 6,000 strong total number of Sky employees in Scotland, making it  Scotland’s 9th largest private sector employer.

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company.  Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.5 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News.

Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes.  More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi.  NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV.  Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts.  Sky employs 23,000 people, has annual revenues of £7.2 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP.  Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY).

About Sky Academy:

Sky Academy comprises of four initiatives, with a fifth built around creativity and the arts following later this year. The four initial initiatives are:

Sky Academy Skills Studios - An interactive learning experience that takes young people behind the scenes at Sky. Students build life skills by using Sky’s state-of-the-art technology to make a TV news report on subjects they’re studying through the curriculum. Over 18,000 young people aged 8 to 18 have visited the first Skills Studios in West London since they opened in 2012.

Sky Sports Living for Sport - A national schools-based initiative that uses sports stars and sports skills to help build young people’s confidence and life skills. Delivered in partnership with Youth Sport Trust and teachers, Sky Sports Living for Sport is now in its 10th year. One third of British secondary schools participate in the initiative, which has recently launched in Ireland to extend its reach even further. In September 2013, Sky was named Corporate of the Year at the international Beyond Sport Awards in recognition of the difference that Sky Sports Living for Sport has made to young people’s lives.

Sky Academy Scholarships – A bursary scheme that supports some of the most exciting emerging talent in the worlds of sport and the arts. As well as financial backing, the scholarships provide assistance and mentoring from Sky’s staff and other experts. Already the support of a Sky Academy Scholarship has helped more than 30 young artists and athletes to achieve their goals. Building on this success, Sky is working with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to create a brand new set of scholarships to support young people setting out on a career in the television industry.

Sky Academy Starting Out - A comprehensive range of work experience and employment opportunities that opens up Sky to young people, helping to raise their aspirations and prepare them for the world of work. To match the needs of young people at different stages in their journey from education to employment, Sky offers a range of work experience, placement, apprenticeship and graduate programmes. The total number of opportunities across the business will double over the next three years. In addition to this, Sky will launch a new programme in 2014 that gives teenagers the opportunity to spend a day at Sky for hands-on experience of the workplace.

For more information, go to www.sky.com/academy.